This group was made up of legends like my dad, Booker Noe, and some of his peers at other distilleries during this time. These guysî the "elder statesmen" as we call òemî paved the way for Master Distillers to get recognized for their craft. They even became the very first class inducted into the Bourbon Hall of Fame. I remember once I was with my dad when they all met up in Chicago for a festival. We were catching up at a bar and to most of the people there, we were just six random guys drinking bourbon. But someone pointed us out to the bartender and said, "you’ve got bourbon royalty in here." We all laughed and raised our glasses. While it’s true enough now, it wasn’t always like this.

Back in the day, being a Master Distiller just meant running the distillery. But these elder statesmen changed all that, raising the bar for all of us. The job went from spending every waking moment in the distillery, to traveling the world, all the while introducing people to our beloved bourbon. They became spokesmen and celebrities in their own right. They made the job as big as they were. I’ve looked up to these guys my whole life. They showed me the ropes of how to make great whiskey and built my love and respect for everything that goes into the craft. I’m proud to follow in their footsteps and honor them with this batch.